


Just the two of (vir)us

by DynamiteMars



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types, Just Roll With It (Podcast), coronavirus - Fandom, jrwi
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, COVID19, Corona Virus - Freeform, Corona is only a minor part of the story, Corona!AU, Covid-19!AU, Friends to Lovers, I will have no pandemic stress in my fic, Implied Sexual Content, It's not full on smut but its enough to change the tags for, M/M, Making Out, Minor Angst, Mutual Pining, Quarantine, Some Sexual Content in the last chapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:27:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 15,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23187757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DynamiteMars/pseuds/DynamiteMars
Summary: If Br’aads subject of pining for months was going to completely reject him and express extreme regret for the nights escapades he was not going to let him go without giving him as much shit as possible.“Looks like we had quite the bonding moment last night, huh lover boy?”god, he just can't help himself could he?Taxi and Br'aad wake up after a night of drunken shenanigans to remember today is the start of quarantine for COVID-19 in their city, leaving them forced to be quarantined together for an entire month the morning after. Will they survive the tension and figure it the fuck out or will it slowly tear them both apart?
Relationships: Br'aad Vengolor/Taxi
Comments: 33
Kudos: 149





	1. Morning after

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic that i've ever posted, I am unsure of how this might be received but I had fun writing it. Enjoy!

The gentle sunlight crawled across the bed and into Taxi’s eyes waking him gently to the worst hangover he's had in his life. Even sitting up slowly his head panged with headache, the pain lightly disorienting his sight. Taxi kept his eyes mostly closed, using the hand that wasn’t holding onto his forehead as if to keep the pain from splitting his skull, to make his way to his medicine cabinet. 

He tripped over a green vest on his way. He picked it up gingerly, confused. He didn’t remember owning something like this... He remembered that Br’aad owned something similar. Maybe he left it the last time he had been here? Taxi pondered for a moment but tossed it aside, figuring he’d return it at a later date. He filled a glass with cool water and grabbed two Tylenol. The cold water tasted fresh and cleared the morning breath he was suffering from. The Tylenol was soon to kick in, ensuring an end to the burning headache. He began making coffee to allow himself to finally wake up. 

With a steaming mug in hand, Taxi leaned against the edge of his countertop and took a sip. His eyes began adjusting to the sunlight and he scanned his apartment. There were small piles of wrinkling clothes making a path to his bedroom. Taxi could have continued being oblivious and passed it off as his continued drunken escapades, he could get very chaotic when he drank too much but, Taxi wasn’t as stupid as _some_ of his friends. The sudden sounds of someone running to the bathroom and retching, likely his “sleeping buddy”, definitely helped give way to the events from the night before. 

Taxi stood frozen in his spot as memories slowly poured back into his head leaving him red in the face. He supposed maybe he should make another cup of coffee? He had no idea who was in the other room throwing up in his toilet, or whether they even drank coffee, but he turned to make it anyway.

Taxi kept his eyes on his task at hand as he made the coffee, not daring to look up. The mystery individual gradually finished vomiting as Taxi minded raced.

“ _I could just run out the door and never face them. I could just run and not stop running_ ” 

His fingers tapped the countertop nervously considering the motion but the universe did not wait for him to make up his mind. With a groan the individual walked into the room. Taxi used all of his will power to keep his head down towards the coffee machine and by extension, the wall. He never really noticed the pattern of the wallpaper but, oh boy! Was it interesting now!

“Would you.. Like a coffee?” Taxi blurted out. 

He kept his eyes forward and his hands busy, the reddening of cheeks were just from the drifting steam and purely circumstantial he swears to himself. They were in no way related to the embarrassment as vague memories of the night continued to drift back into his mind. He very much would like the person to please pick up their clothes and leave his apartment. The stranger apparently had a very different plan as they wrapped their arms around his waist. A soft kiss was planted on the back of his neck. It was very sweet, he might have appreciated it if it had been from a longtime significant other but, now it just left him more anxious than before. The mystery individual perked their chin on top of Taxi’s shoulder, or at least as close up to that as it could go. He was significantly taller than them. Taxi stiffened up at the unexpected touch. Not unpleasant, just unexpected and fleeting.

“I thought you knew I didn’t like coffee? I’ll have some since you already made it though, as long as you load it with milk and sugar…” 

The voice was very very familiar. Taxi only had so many friends and he could recognize that specific voice anywhere. They trailed off sweetly as they removed their arms and sat on top of the counter next to Taxi where he could no longer completely avoid eye contact via the wall.

“Looks like we had quite the bonding moment last night, huh lover boy?” Br’aad trilled, an amused smile burning a hole through Taxi’s heart. 

_Oh fuck_ , Taxi's eyes widened as the realization him. 

The memories became more and more clear. He remembered the blond hair and golden tattoos across the chest. The arms laced with gold that had been scratching at his back and the purple eyes that kissed him throughout the night. They were all the unmistakable description of his best friend, Br'aad. 

Sylnan just might kill him for sleeping with Br’aad, Taxi decided, if he didn't die from embarrassment right then.


	2. Morning after pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Br'aads here to y'all

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a much shorter than I would like but, i'm creating a bit of a buffer between what I have written and what i'm posting. There will be longer chapter tomorrow... so stay tuned for that!

Br’aad stretched his arm over only to find the absence of the warm body he swore was there a moment ago. His hand limply laid in the absent warm spot Taxi left behind, he heard a soft clattering from the kitchen of the two room apartment. Was he making breakfast or something? Br’aad certainly hoped so. The pounding headache of his hangover was relentless and some food would definitely help, plus it would be pretty adorable. Br’aad sat up trying to catch a glimpse of Taxi through the open doorway but was met with a sickening wave of nausea. Br’aad practically felt himself turn green as he scrambled off the bed and into the bathroom, just barely in time to throw up into the toilet.  


The vomiting lasted for a awful few minutes. When the storm finally finished, Br’aad laid down with his head against the cool tile trying to gain back some strength. His brain began working hyper actively picking at him for how it looked to be vomiting in the bathroom of the boy he’d been crushing on for months, the morning after they fucked. A million what-if situations raced through his brain. What if this wasn’t actually Taxi’s apartment and his drunken state just imagined it to be so? If that was the case he didn’t want to be on the floor of some grody strangers bathroom. Br’aad frantically looked around the room to confirm or deny if this was Taxi’s apartment but, he couldn't remember what his bathroom looked like the last time he was here. He got up from the floor just in case.  


Br’aad looked at himself in the mirror as he washed his hands, still feeling slightly nauseous but, significantly less so. His eyes were masked by large dark bags. He made a joke to himself about not being able to get enough sleep last night as he dried his hands and moved back to study himself more in the mirror. There were a couple hickeys at the top of his neck that were going to be difficult to hide and a definite bite mark on his shoulder. He winked at himself in the mirror to hype himself up.  


Sunlight poured directly into his eyes as Br’aad opened the bathroom door. With a groan he glanced around at the bedroom floor and the discarded clothes around it, and realizing his nakedness, grabbed the closet item: a pair of grey sweat pants that were definitely not his. He made his way toward the bedroom door. Br’aad slowly peeked through it, anxious of who he would find. The figure was a tall and lanky man with ruffled and fluffy orange hair. His back was covered in nail marks and scratches. Br’aad blushed remembering that those scratches had most definitely come from his hands. But the figure appeared to be Taxi, the dorky cat tattoo on his right shoulder confirmed his identity. Br’aad breathed a silent sigh of relief, if he had any self control he would have tried to play it cool as he walked over but, said a “fuck it” to himself. He got the boy! He deserved to be a little proud of himself and could afford to be a little flirty, he could just pass it off as another one of his classic Br’aad jokes if Taxi didn’t reciprocate. Before he could complete the walk over Taxis voice rang out:  
“Would you… like a coffee?”  


Taxis nervousness was very apparent, Br’aad didn’t even have to see the redness of his face to know he was furiously blushing. Br’aad nearly passed out from the cuteness of the boy in front of him. Instead Br’aad wrapped his arms around Taxi and placed a light kiss to the nape of his neck before placing his head on taxis shoulder.  
“I thought you knew I didn’t like coffee? I’ll have some since you already made it though, as long as you load it with milk and sugar…”  


Taxi immediately stiffened up and Br’aad got the message that Taxi definitely might be regretting the night's events, they were also both definitely heavily hungover and that probably didn’t help. Taxi was very warm, he wished he could keep holding on forever. Slightly hurt Br’aad reluctantly pulled his arms away. As Br’aad moved to the countertop beside Taxi he switched up his approach to compliment Taxi’s mood. 

If Br’aads subject of pining for months was about to completely reject him and express extreme regret for the nights escapades he was not going to let him go without giving him as much shit as possible. 

“Looks like we had quite the bonding moment last night, huh lover boy?” god, he just can’t help himself could he?


	3. Outside contact

Taxi couldn’t bring himself to meet his friends eyes, no matter the interest the purple contacts he always wore brought. Br’aad, from his perch on the countertop, seemed to be oblivious to his obvious ‘suffering’ and lightly turned Taxi’s face toward him. 

Br’aads face was wreathed in the morning light. The mane of blond hair seemed to brighten his face even more. His purple eyes were practically blinding, though it could have been the anxiety they were causing, staring right through him. The aforementioned sunlight accentuated a million small scars Br’aad had accumulated with Sylnan throughout childhood. If scars meant bravery, both brothers had enough for an army. The tattoo across Br’aads check which trailed down his neck and across his chest and arms, revealed an entire book of regrets. 

Looking directly into the purple eyes he realized -perhaps not for the first time- that Br’aad was actually quite nice looking. The way the sun’s light danced through onto his face laced with scars and golden tattoos made Taxi want to protect Br’aad and save him from anymore scars and hurt, which was ridiculous Br’aad was million times more competent than Taxi. He could take care of himself. 

The usually laughing and smiley face was as neutral and solemn as Taxi believed Br’aad could muster. The last time Br’aad made this face he tricked Taxi into thinking he was being attacked while he adopted his cat, Liveclock. It worked though, so he couldn’t blame Br’aad for using this for his antics. Taxi practically felt as if he was under a thrall. Br’aads thumb gently grazed Taxi’s cheek drawing Taxi out of his own mind and Br’aad began speaking: 

“If you're going to have fucked me, you at least have to look me in the eyes bro.” 

The spell was immediately broken, Taxi jumped halfway across the room and Br’aad began laughing his ass off. He opened his mouth in between giggles in an attempt to continue speaking, but was cut off by the sudden ringing of a phone from a pair of pants in front of the bedroom door. 

Br’aad hopped off the counter top a toward the ringing cell phone and Taxi calmed his quickly beating heart. He took a few deep breaths and as he heard Br’aad begin speaking on the phone he began to re busy himself with making the coffee Br’aad had accepted. Taxi attempted not to eavesdrop to Br’aads conversation, but Br’aad was only a couple feet away so it became pretty impossible not to. 

Based on Br’aad’s tone, it seemed to be his brother, Sylnan. Knowing Sylnan, Taxi assumed that he’d be very worried. Br’aad and Taxi had disappeared from the group, very drunk. It was understandable for their friends to be worried for their safety. Taxi didn’t even remember how they got to his apartment- a sudden flood of memories came back and he did in fact remember how they got there. The alley pit stop had been particularly eventful, he was beginning to feel a bit red in the face again. 

Taxi looked back at Br’aad as he heard his name mentioned. They met eyes for a moment and Br’aad gave him a light smile before he turned and continued his conversation. Taxi began finally calming down. 

_This is fine! _Taxi reassured himself, Br’aad and him were both adults and it hadn’t not been fun. They could just agree to never think about it again! As long as his friends didn’t find out he’d survive. He wouldn’t be able to survive the teasing. He handed a mug of coffee to Br’aad, if it could even be classified as such. The drink was mostly milk and sugar. Br’aad gave him a nervous smile which he didn’t think much of.__

__Taxi grabbed an ensemble of clothes and headed to the bathroom. He glanced at himself in the mirror. His orange hair was a fucking mess, but when was it ever not? Besides the eye bags the only abnormal things were the scratches on his back and a hickey on his collar bone. He tossed his hoodie on, hiding them both. He set the small wire cat ear headband that he had made a habit wearing, onto his head. What? He liked cats, sue him._ _

__As he exited the bathroom Taxi saw his phone ringing alerting him to a facetime call from Velrisa, which was strange. Vel barely used her phone anyway but,Vel the least likely to know about last night and the least likely to tease him. He answered the phone. The appearance of all of his friends popped up instead, making everything clear. Suddenly Br’aad ran in yelling._ _

__“WAIT, Taxi don’t answer that!” Br’aad slid into the bedroom and smacked directly into the wall. Taxi stepped back in surprise_ _

__“Are you quite alright Br’aad?”_ _

__“Ow, fuck, yeah... you’ve already answered it. It's too late for us now.”_ _

__“Too late? What are you talking about?” Taxi knelt down to speak to Br’aad at eye level, forgetting the phone in his hands, which made Br’aad, with his hickeys, visible to the camera which caused quite the ruckus on the other side of the call. Redd let out a wolf whistle and joined in with Mountain's laughter. Velrisa let out a quiet ‘oh my’ while Sylnan began yelling about how he ‘fucking called it’._ _

__Taxi looked over at Br’aad. He was pink in the face with a very embarrassed look. His arms were crossed as he refused to make eye contact with the screen._ _

__“So they-” Taxi started before being interrupted by Br’aad, “yeah.. They know."_ _


	4. The one where they finally talk about quarantine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a few days since i've posted a chapter, I've tried to keep a schedule of one chapter per day but that is impossible to keep up with. Expect 1-3 days between chapters, my school has finally finalized online classes so that may hinder my writing time as well. Whoops!

Br’aad had gone white as he jumped off the countertop, recognizing the ringtone that rang out. He stumbled and attempted to grab his phone out of his pants pocket. The phone hit the soft carpet as he somewhat frantically shook them around. He picked it up just in time for it to stop ringing. He looked at the notifications he’d received. It was the twelfth missed call from Sylnan. upon further inspection into the notifications he saw that he managed to miss twenty three text messages from Sylnan as well. He scrolled through a few of them biting his nails, reading through Sylnans gradually rising panic. 

_Br’aad where did you go?_

_You’re still in the bar right?_

_Are you still with Taxi?_

_Please answer me, i’m worried..._

_Call me ASAP_

Br’aad knew that his brother wouldn’t be angry with him, he wasn’t a kid just wandering around the streets anymore, but he knew Sylnan would be anxious, very anxious. Especially knowing his own penchant for getting himself in trouble. Sylnan was the one who insured that they both survived as kids, being a little overprotective was a means of survival. He didn’t like making Sylnan worried over him. He quickly recalled his brother. It barely rang once before Sylnan picked up. 

“Thank fuck, you’re alive..” the releif in Sylnans voice left a pang in Br’aads chest. He didn’t deserve to need to be so worried in the first place. 

“Sorry.. I just woke up i didn’t hear you calling at all I was busy” 

“Just woke up? It's late morning Br’aad. Where are you?” 

Br’aad figured maybe he shouldn’t give away that he was at Taxi’s. If his friends used any inferencing skills, they would never hear the end of it. Taxi was still getting shit from the group for sleeping with someone the last time he’d gotten drunk. He figured he might spare the boy at least a little bit. 

“I am at… a apartment” 

“Br’aad.” The stern tone of Sylnan made him throw out his last thought. 

“Taxi’s apartment.” 

“Thank you. Taxi is there too right?” 

Br’aad looked over at Taxi who had gone back to making coffee. He turned his head around to give a curious look at Br’aad from the staring. 

“Yeah” 

“Okay i’ll tell Vel to stop calling the local parks- wait hold on” Sylnans voice took a tone of amusement as he was piecing the parts of Br’aads story together. Br’aad could practically hear the suppressed smile. 

“Some of the people in the bar said they saw you both leaving the bar, hand in hand giggling and drunk out of your minds, you are at Taxi’s, and you said you didn’t get much sleep because you were busy...” 

“Sylnan do not finish that thought” Br’aads warning tone was purely for comedic sake. Hiding this from all his friends would be impossible at this point. 

“You slept with him.” In the background of Sylnan’s call Br’aad could hear Mountain yell out a “what?” while Redd began pleading that Sylnan put the call on speaker phone right this instant. 

Br’aads silence was taken as a confession. Mountain and Redd continued yelling. 

“Br’aad turn on speaker phone for a second, I have to talk to Taxi for a second.” Br’aad anxiously smiled toward Taxi as he was handed a coffee. “You know, I don’t think i’m going to actually do that Sylnan” 

“Br’aad you know I love you dearly. You are my amazing brother and I support all of your endeavors but, there's no way you both are escaping the shit we are legally obligated to give you.” Br’aad knew any shit Taxi would get would just make him less likely to want to talk to Br’aad about the night or ever again for that matter, so he moved on to his best defenses: Petty insults. 

“Thats gay” 

“So are you” 

“Your mom” 

“Thats a low blow” 

“Your dad” 

“Fine don’t pull any punches back against your loving and devoted brother, but it's too late Br’aad.” Br’aad heard the ringing of Taxi’s phone in the other room and his eyes widened. 

“Th-That can’t be!” If Sylnan had glasses, they would have shone a bright white as he pushed them up the bridge of his nose. A malicious smirk peeking out from the corners of his lips. Br’aad decided he really needed to stop his brother from watching any more anime but Sylnan continued his spiel. 

“You see Br’aad, as I distracted you from my true plan Redd and Mountain had acquired Velrisa's phone and-” Br’aad hung up the phone to stop the monologuing and ran to prevent Taxi from picking up, which only ended up with him sliding across the floor and directly into a wall. He looked up a Taxi, who had his phone in hand, no doubt answered. 

Much to Br’aads disappointment, it looked like he changed into actual clothes. He quite liked looking at Taxi without a shirt. 

“Are you quite alright Br’aad?” The concern in Taxi’s voice made his heart melt, which solidified back quickly when he remembered that Taxi, who definitely did not want what happened getting out, was about to be mercilessly subjected to their friends teasing. 

“Ow, fuck, yeah... you’ve already answered it. It's too late for us now.” Br'aad spent a moment just staring up into Taxi's face. Knowing him, after this impending disaster, Taxi may never speak to him again. 

“Too late? What are you talking about?” Taxi began to kneel down to Br’aad before he could say anything to stop him 

Br’aad crossed his arms and turned a light pink as the camera stopped on him, giving his friends a great view of the hickeys and bite marks across his neck and shoulders. The laughing of Mountain and Redd felt like it lasted five minutes but Velrisa thankfully interjected, stopping any continued mocking. 

“Are you guys going to be okay stuck in Taxi’s apartment for a month? Do you have enough food?” Br’aad’s brow furrowed. What was she talking about? Why would he have to stay here for a month? Sylnans face transformed from amusement to concern in response. 

“Yeah.. Vel's right. We can’t risk the fines to get you both over here. You’ll just have to be quarantined there.” 

Taxi and Br’aad exchanged a panicked look. It seems they both had forgotten about that important information in their drunken stupor. 

This was going to be an interesting month.


	5. Coffee cups and hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully y'all catch my coffee cup symbolism...

They sat at opposite sides of the room but had the apartment been bigger and the world not contained under threat of a virus, they would have likely been even farther. The chair that Taxi occupied creaked as he shifted his weight, only momentarily filling in the silent space. 

Taxi’s knuckles were white from his grip; he kept the coffee mug, pointedly looking everywhere except at Br’aad. The handle felt like the only thing tying him down from completely getting lost in his anxiety. 

Taxi gingerly took a sip from his mug, his eyes were drawn to the steam delicately wafting up from the brim of the only other coffee cup. Br’aad must have left it on the table before the unfortunate call. Taxi’s eyes drifted over to Br’aad before he could resist the urge. After their friends had finished their heckling, Sylnan had asked to speak with Br’aad alone for a moment. Br’aads voice did not quite easily but, his tone had been hushed and embarrassed. Whatever the two discussed must not have been pleasant, Br’aad half looked as if he wanted to bolt. 

The embarrassment Taxi understood, they messed up while they were both drunk. It was just a mistake they could both just get over. 

_They could just keep being friends and forget… right?_

Br’aad sat on Taxi’s couch with knees loosely pulled into his chest. Taxi watched him nervously pick at the strings of the fraying cushions. He was staring out the window. sunlight poured out of it leaving Br’aad surrounded in a warm glow. 

How did he always manage to find the spot with the most light? Taxi found himself pondering over the same features from earlier. The blonde hair looked like a night light and the staring practically hurt his eyes. His brow was lightly creased into a rare concerned look. Golden tattoos traced down his chest. Br’aads hands continued their onslaught on the threads, he remembered Br’aads hands were surprisingly strong. Taxi felt as if he could admire his friend for the rest of the day. 

_r-right_. Taxi confirmed to himself, less confidently than he meant to. It didn’t matter if he suddenly found his friend very attractive- he held back a wince at the thought. Taxi felt as if he wasn’t thinking clearly, maybe he was still drunk? No.. that wouldn’t make sense, but there was no way he was about to start thinking that Br’aad Vengalor, local dumbass, was handsome. Taxi’s cheeks began to feel a bit red. 

He reasoned with himself, it was simply just confusion. He went and got his feelings all fucked up, it would fade soon enough. It wasn’t the first time he’d felt like this. He remembered the events from a month ago had felt exactly the same. 

“Taxi, you are so fucking sick, you’re not leaving.” Br’aad had stood in the exit. His arms only stiffened against the doorframe as Taxi attempted to push past. 

“Br’aad, I need to.” Taxi shifted to the other side in another attempt to leave his apartment, Br’aad only moved again to block the approach. 

“If you can get past me you can leave.” Taxi took it as a challenge. 

He knew there was no way he could overpower Br’aad but he could outpace him. Taxi prepared to double his speed and took a step. The last thing he saw was the quickly approaching floor as his vision spotted out into darkness. 

When he woke up he was tucked into his own bed, the sun in the sky marked it as about noon. He groaned and sat up. Taxi wondered for a moment if he imagined the morning and had accidentally slept through his alarms but there was a washcloth on his head and Br’aad walked in. He sat on the edge of the bed arms crossed and a classic smirk peeking at the corners of his mouth. 

“Please don’t say I -” 

“-I told you so.” Br’aads smirk stretched into a genuine smile. “I made you soup, Sylnan always made some for me when I was sick as a little kid, so I can guarantee that it’ll help.” 

“Thank you so much” Taxi made eye contact to establish his gratitude for the gesture. A drop of water ran down the bridge of his nose causing Taxi peeled the wet towel off of his forehead. “Why is there a wet cloth on my head?” 

“Is that not anything? I thought that was something you did when people have fevers.” Br’aad shrugged and stood up. “I don’t know shit man, if you haven’t noticed i’m kinda stupid.” 

The two broke into laughter and Br’aad slowly helped Taxi out of bed and into the kitchen. Taxi remembered that day and the emotions it brought so clearly. He had felt so cared for, a very rare emotion throughout his own life. Perhaps that was why whenever for the next week following that day; whenever Br’aad smiled at Taxi he wanted to kiss him. He was just mixing around platonic emotions with romantic ones. Perhaps that was why he began avoiding Br’aad to let his feelings dwindle and die out, until yesterday at least. He couldn’t let himself feel this! He was just confused, it’ll be better for everyone else if he left it behind. No doubt he wouldn’t be reciprocated anyway. 

Taxi’s thoughts were interrupted by Br’aad abruptly turning away from the window to find Taxi mindlessly staring. He gave Taxi a confused smile with an accompanying awkward wave. Taxi jerked in surprise and took a moment to recollect himself before speaking. 

“S-sorry I didn’t mean to stare, I just got lost in my thoughts” Br’aad laughed dryly and stood from the couch, stretching out his arms slowly. 

“Well… what should we do? We could probably watch a movie or something.” Br’aads voice sounded bored and even but he made eye contact, the look in his eyes was almost pleading. 

Taxi didn’t understand why, maybe it was the oppressive silence between friends made into strangers or a million other “perhaps”. He looked down at the table where two coffee mugs lay, one completely untouched. His own cup was mostly drunk, it had tasted bitter. The other coffee was much too sweet, it would be better for him to just dump it, no doubt Br’aad wouldn’t want it. 

Out of the corner of his eye Br’aad let out a breath, letting his shoulders deflate and began to sit back down. The subtle droop in the corners of his mouth made Taxi’s heart hurt. Taxi picked up the too-sweet mug and spoke. 

“Yeah that sounds nice actually, do you have anything in mind?” He downed the coffee in nearly a single sip. Setting down the mug, he saw Br’aad’s wide smile return to the place it should be, and for the first time in a while he began to feel hopeful.


	6. Dreading old memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, I didn't realize some of y'all left comments? Thank you so much! They're all so sweet and I'm glad to see that y'all like the story so far. They gave me some good motivation to write the next few chapters. My google doc has surpassed 20 pages and I've had to rewrite the new stuff several times over but, it's coming along nicely!

Taxi sat just that inch too far away. It wasn’t far enough to warrant asking why he was sitting so damn far -though Br’aad definitely knew why- but, the space stuck out like a sore thumb. Br’aad missed the familiarity of when he could just flop over onto his friends lap in that platonic you-are-my-friend-and-I-like-being-with-you way. It felt like a solid wall was between them and he couldn’t tell if it was only there figuratively. 

Br’aad drew his legs into a criss-cross position and shot Taxi a glance every minute or so. He seemed to be pointedly not looking at Br’aad, _again_. Br’aad made an annoyed face, it really wasn’t as subtle as Taxi clearly thought it was but, it was fine. It wasn’t like he expected Taxi to continue their friendship anyway. Taxi would just end up being too anxious to talk or look at him the same way again. The teasing of their friends certainly wouldn’t help either. Anytime they would have a conversation or hang out together they’d end up plagued with wiggling eyebrows and wolf whistles. 

The earlier conversation with Sylnan still rang in his ears as he began cutting the last thread of hope he had left. 

“So you actually like him then?” Sylnans tone perked upward as if he was asking why. 

“Well it doesn’t matter now Sylnan, he won’t even look me in the fucking eyes!” Br’aads tone was as hushed as he could make it with the embarrassment and hurt still coming through. 

“I’m sure it's not that bad I mean Taxi is reasonable enough-” 

“Is he really Sylnan?" He asked it as a statement, voice beginning to strain. 

“...well I mean” 

“I’m basically stuck with constant and continuous rejection for a month.” Br’aad pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to calm himself. 

“Don’t give up hope yet Br’aad! There must be something there if your drunk selves got yourselves in this right?” 

“Sylnan please don’t try and get my hopes up. There is no hope. Hope machine broke.” 

“A lot can change in a month! I mean the most classic unexpected romance could bloom, like ‘oh my god they were roommates’ you remember hearing about the actual story right?” 

“Did you just quote a vine in 2020? Syl, it's been years you have to let it go.” Sylnans interjection about vine nonsense was a brief but appreciated reprieve from the situation at hand. Br'aad allowed himself to laugh but, the universe was not kind enough to give him a break and the storm his emotions had become continued raging 

“Shut up, it's timeless you just have no taste. Anyway in y’alls case it wouldn’t be roommates. Maybe quarain-team mates? Is that anything? I can’t tell-” 

“Please just stop.” Sylnan trying to keep his hope intact was a sweet gesture but it really wouldn’t be realistic. Br’aad silently berated himself for allowing his feelings for Taxi to fester for so long, for the hundredth time of the hour. The moments they shared had just been too nice to indulge in. He couldn’t make himself let go. 

It reminded him of one of the first times where he and Taxi had hung out together. It must have been about a year ago. They had met at Taxis to make a gift for Mountain's birthday but, as the night progressed they ended up getting a little too tipsy with no work to show for it. Their conversation had dissolved into a long game of truth or dare the purpose of the meeting long forgotten. 

“Truth or dare Taxi.” Br'aad dramatically pointed his finger at Taxi to emphasize his question. 

“Truth obviously, if you make me lick a window again on a dare i’m gonna scream.” 

“Okay, okay. I have a very important question. This may be the most important question of your life okay?” Br’aad struggled to repress his own laughter as he spoke. 

“The most important question of my life?” He used his hands to create air quotes as he parroted Br'aad. Taxi had the stupidest smile on his face which made it even harder for Br’aad to hold in his laughter. 

"Are you ready?" Br'aad tried his hardest to give a solemn expression but, it quickly dissolved into giggles. 

"quit the suspense already, whats the question Br'aad?" 

“What's your favorite color?” 

“This is a very serious question, I don’t think I know you well enough to share this kind of information with you Br’aad.” Taxi's smile widened. 

“Shut up Saxi, i’ve known you for a while and don’t even know your favorite color.” 

“It's green, I figured that was obvious.” 

“Because trees?” Br’aad asked. 

“Because trees.” Taxi confirmed. “Anyways Br’aad, truth or dare?” 

“Truth, I don’t trust your dares either Saxi” Br’aad slurred. Taxi took a moment to think but within a minute his eyes had lit up with excitement. 

“Okay so, If you had to kiss one person in our friend group who would it be?” 

“Thats a good one.” Br’aad took a sip of his drink thoughtfully. Sylnan obviously was off the table, he did not want to kiss his brother, gross. Mountain was also a no-go. If Br’aad even managed to get close enough to kiss him, he’d end up losing a few teeth in the aftermath. Maybe Velrisa? She was pretty and nice enough, but he didn’t really swing that way. 

“Probably you.” Br’aad rested his chin on his hand as he decided. 

“You would not, don’t try and lie to me Br’aad.” Taxi laughed. 

“Bet! It's not gay if you say no homo.” Br’aads decision was further cemented into his mind. This would be the hill he’d die on. 

“Do it, I dare you” A silence followed after Taxi spoke. Taxis face was an almost mocking smirk. 

“You're really gonna dare me?” Br’aad asked, confused. 

“I’m calling your bluff Br’aad, I don’t think you’ll actually go through with it.” Br’aad smirked. A challenge then? That was all he needed. Br’aad leaned forward to Taxi and did exactly what his dare required. The kiss lasted for a few seconds. Br’aad remembered that it was actually quite pleasant. He pulled away, and crossed his arms triumphantly. 

“Oof” was all that Taxi said. 

They laughed and moved on through the night. Br’aad wished he could go back to that moment where he wasn’t anxious in the slightest to act around Taxi. Sylnan’s voice spoke through the phone and brought him back into reality. 

“Are you going to be alright?” The concern in Sylnan’s voice left pangs in Br’aad’s heart. 

“No, but i’ll live.” 

“Tell you what Br’aad, when this is all over we can get some ice cream and talk about your feelings, okay?” The two laughed momentarily. 

“Okay.” Br’aad croaked out. 

He didn’t want to give up his crush but, it was inevitable, The tension between the pair on the couch felt lonely and cold. He missed his best friend already.


	7. Boiling point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the shortness but this felt like a good place to end this chapter. The next chapter should be a lot nicer. Enjoy!

To be next to his best friend and not able to even look at them without feeling a pit in his stomach hurt Br’aad more and more the longer he sat. Taxi kept pointedly staring at the screen and Br’aads mood continued to sour. 

Hours began to tick by, the morning light waned into an afternoon glow. Neither of them had said a word. There was no improvement to Br’aads mood and he stewed quietly. They should at least talk about what happened instead of ignoring everything. He wished Taxi would at least treat him like his friend and not just a mistake. He crossed his arms tightly, gaze turning steely. 

Around afternoon time the apartment began to cool. The green vest he wore did nothing to protect him from it. The room was as cold as Taxi, Br’aad decided. He shivered and the movement caught the others eye. Taxi looked over with a look of concern that only continued to grate Br’aad’s nerves. 

“Are you cold Br’aad? I can get you a blanket if so.” 

“I’m not cold.” He shot back tersely. Br’aad pulled his arms even closer to warm himself up regardless. 

Taxi tilted his head, eyebrows knit together. He began to open his mouth as if to ask what his tone was for. Br’aads annoyance graduated into anger. 

“You know what's wrong Taxi. Don’t try to act like you don’t know.” Br’aad’s eyes narrowed into a glare that launched daggers. A voice in the back of his head asked why he was doing this? Why was he lashing out like this? He told it to shut up. 

“No, I don’t know what's wrong Br’aad.” Taxi’s mood fell to match. “Why are you getting so angry all of a sudden?” 

Br’aad stood up from the couch, fists clenched. “Just stop avoiding it, You are literally refusing to even look me in the eyes!” 

“We’ve just been sitting on the couch Br’aad. I’m not avoiding anything we just haven't spoken!” Br’aad began to see red. 

“Thats the fucking problem Taxi. We aren’t talking.” Taxi opened his mouth to interrupt but Br’aad began to release everything that he’d been bottling up. “I hoped last night wouldn’t change everything but, of course it would. I gave up on anything more but, I had at least hoped that we could still be friends. I knew I shouldn’t have held out hope. I knew that I would just get hurt even more.” 

“we can go back to how it was before all this happened but, I don’t want to talk about that right now.” Taxi crossed his arms and stared at the floor, Br’aad seethed. Taxi still couldn’t look at him. 

“Fine. You can continue to pretend nothing happened, I’ll just go then.” 

“What? We're quarantined you can’t go anywhere.” It seemed to shake Taxi from his stance “You’ll get sick if you do that, you’re not gonna do that.” Br’aads resolve turned to stone, refusing to listen to sense. 

A challenge? That was all he needed. Br’aad shot Taxi one last loathing look before opening up the door of the apartment and slamming it shut behind him. 

Br’aad made it to the stairwell before coming to his senses. He grabbed onto the top of the railing as if it were the only thing tethering him to the world, knuckles turning white. 

___I could probably make it home without getting caught, I’ve done it a hundred times before… Sylnan didn’t want to risk the fines, if he knew what was happening and didn’t want the risk it must be bad. I can’t stay here though. I can’t go forward. I wish I hadn’t lashed out._ His mind raced at what felt like the speed of light. He shuddered and shakily sat down at the top of the stairwell. Regret and guilt gripped his mind and he gave in to it. _ _

__

__Br’aad collapsed in on himself and sobbed. The stairwell was quiet except for the choking sound of crying._ _


	8. Lost to the echo chamber

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _Been a while, huh?_ I absolutely love how this chapter came out. I feel like I was able to make it sorta meaningful. Is that a little narcissistic to say? maybe, but i'm a little proud of myself lol. The next few chapters might be a tad late as i'm writing several versions to ensure it flows as much as possible.

Taxi was completely stunned, arm outstretched as if it had made an effort to stop Br’aad from leaving. The shock kept him planted. Facing the shut door, he lowered his arm. He knew Br’aad was right in calling him out. It was true that he was avoiding everything, but that was understandable right? He reasoned, he just wasn’t ready to communicate yet. He wasn’t done processing the emotions he had. He just needed more time to think! Taxi pleaded in his mind at a closed door as if it could turn back the clock.

Reality returned to his brain like a forgotten boomerang, which is to say it knocked the sense back into him.

_Oh what the fuck, he can’t be out in the middle of all of this. Oh shit oh fuck I need to get him back before he gets sick._

Taxi rushed out the door frantically and stood in the hallway outside of his apartment. 

_He can’t have gotten to far if I can get down the stairs- oh._

A figure was hunched over at the top of the stairwell. It was unmistakably Br’aad. As Taxi approached he heard the sniffling sounds of crying. The crying made him forget about rushing out into a global pandemic. Taxi developed tunnel vision and began to run down the rest of the hall. 

“Br’aad!” Taxi’s voice echoed, he held back a wince. No doubt his neighbors were going to complain about the noise. Br’aad turned, the tears in his eyes were visible and had left trails down his cheeks. He seemed to jolt when he saw Taxi running. He quickly turned with tensing shoulders, frantically wiping at his face with dirty palms. As if he could wipe away the already seen evidence of tears. 

Taxi put a hand on Br’aads shoulder but it only seemed to panic him even more. He quickly removed it, taking instead a seat at the top of the staircase; a cautionary foot away. Br’aad had curled back into his legs. 

“I’d ask if you’re okay but...” Taxi trailed off. Br’aad let out choked laughter. 

“I’m sorry for yelling.” Br’aads voice was strained. 

“Don’t be. You had every right to call me out.” Taxi leaned back letting his arms support him. Br’aad stayed silent. “We do need to talk about it, it’s important to communicate.” 

“I can’t just force a conversation on you when you aren't ready though.” Br’aad sat up and looked him in the eye, his expression was slightly pained. 

Taxi remembered the resolve he had formed in the morning. He wondered how it could have left so soon after. He knew what he wanted yet nothing seemed clear and stable. He still felt the same uncertainty and anxiety as before. It felt like a risk. He could jump off the cliff and receive either the rewards of being loved or sharp rocks. Both at the mortifying cost of being known. Taxi knew there were no rocks yet that didn’t stop his hesitance. He didn’t know if he was ready to be safe yet, he didn’t know if he could ever muster the strength to jump and find out. 

“It doesn’t have to change anything if you don’t want it to.” Taxi sighed. 

He’d rather support the Br’aad then worry about what he wanted. The self doubt and hatred set in. It began to feel selfish to think any different. He could let go as long as everyone else was fine, the coffee cup would always stay too sweet for him. Too good to be true or viable. 

Br’aad slowly lifted upward and turned his head facing Taxi. 

“If that's what you want...” Br’aad let his voice disappear as if he was opening room for revision, not that Taxi in this state would have noticed or changed anything. The blonde looked down, averting his gaze when he realized Taxi had nothing to add. Had the other been paying attention he would have seen the others eyebrows lower into a face of disappointment. 

They sat in the stairwell a cautious foot apart, feeling as if the abandoned emotions had created yet another wall of space between them. Taxi stared vacantly at the fluorescent lights shining above them. They flickered noncommittally as if they too, could not be or have what they wanted. 

Taxi interrupted his own internal monologue. _It’s a light dumbass, not a metaphor._

Without warning Br’aad shot out toward Taxi, the space between them forced the height of which he wrapped his arms to give a tight hug, to be truly not optimal. Br’aad looked up from where Taxi’s waist was. 

“Why are you sitting so damn far away?” The corners of Br’aads mouth perked into a smile. He then began using his wrapped arms to pull Taxi closer. 

“Wait, Br’aad don’t drag me over, you're going to tear my pants-” Taxi lightly pushed at the others shoulders and leaned away. If the corona virus was very contagious then Br’aads smile was downright infectious. 

“You brought this upon yourself Taxi! I refuse to suffer through a less than perfect hug. I gotta move you over here.” Br’aad continued his struggle to pull Taxi over and they both began giggling. 

“I can move myself Br’aad- OOF.” Br’aad gave a single strong pull which caused Taxi to topple backwards as he was successfully brought directly next to Br’aad. They dissolved into a laughing fit. 

Slowly the pair were reduced to wide smiles sitting shoulder to shoulder. Br’aad wrapped his arms tightly over the other. This time at the correct height for a hug. Taxi gratefully returned it. 

They stayed like that for a long time. The stairwell was silent and the hug made Taxi feel like he was safe, it made him feel like there was a universe out there where he could one day be safe. It was a very long time before either spoke.

“I’m banning all fights from here out. It's the law, it's illegal now.” Br’aad pushed away to speak to Taxi’s in the face. Their foreheads connected and purple contacts drilled into Taxi’s eyes. Maybe it wouldn’t be possible for them to stay fight free forever but, it was certainly a rule he wouldn't mind following. He smiled back with confirmation. 

“Fantastic.” Br’aad pulled away dragging his hands down Taxi’s arms to interlock their fingers. He began standing up. “Well I don’t know whose idea it was to come outside…” Br’aad shot him a fake accusatory look and Taxi rolled his eyes. “But, we really should re-quarantine ourselves.” 

The pair walked hand and hand back into Taxi’s apartment.


	9. Alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally have the rest of the chapters mapped out! Theres going to be at least four, but expect more because I tend to write a little long. I feel like this is good foil from the previous chapter. It was definitely fun to write, but not as fun as that good angst content.

“Okay so what ingredients do we need?” Br’aads voice rang out from across the apartment. He was busy attempting and failing to tie the strings of an apron behind his back. The apron had been a gag gift from Mountain, it was a horrendous shade of pink and read “Pussy” in impact font. The absurdity of it didn’t seem to deter Br’aad from putting it on. 

“I don’t know yet i’m still trying to find a recipe- oh let me help with that.” Taxi walked over to the living room and grabbed the strings from Br’aad’s fumbling hands. He quickly tied it into a sturdy knot. “You know, you don’t have to wear this, we're just making bread. it's unlikely that we’ll create a mess.” 

“You’ve met us right?” Br’aad turned with a laugh. “And besides, I look fantastic.” He did a turn and struck a pose to accentuate the point. 

Taxi choked on his laughter. “Yes sure, completely amazing, beautiful, you could win a contest with this outfit.” 

Br’aad crossed his arms. “Don’t be jealous that I get to serve looks and you don’t.” He admired himself in the reflection of the window. 

Taxi plucked the wire cat ears from his head and held them out. “To improve the look.” 

Br’aad’s light up like spotlights. The entire time Taxi had known Br’aad, he had been hatching increasingly elaborate schemes to steal the ears. Taxi didn’t care too much about keeping them, but it quickly became a matter of principle to play along. 

“Bro put them on me” Br’aad was practically shaking in excitement. Taxi stepped over until he was close enough. He grabbed Br’aad by the shoulders and stared into the others eyes. 

“Are you ready for the responsibility?” Taxi’s face was deadly serious. Br’aad nodded purposefully. 

“I’m ready.” 

Taxi gently raised his arms to place the ears. He slowly, slowly lowered the wire headband until the ends poked through Br’aads hair and onto his scalp. Then he yanked them away and put them back on. 

“You’re not getting them that easy.” 

Br’aad clutched his chest in offense. “Let me just turn myself into a game since you want to play me like that.” He scrunched his nose and smiled tilting his head upward to stare Taxi down. “I’ll get them one day”. 

Taxi looked down to Br’aad. They were really too close to be having a conversation. Br’aad was practically on top of him, yet he didn’t feel uncomfortable. He almost felt… giddy? Maybe even nervous. He trampled the feeling quickly, which had become an hourly procedure ever since the stairwell conversation. 

“Sure, you can keep thinking that.” Taxi managed to choke out. 

Br’aad rolled his eyes but grabbed Taxi’s hand. dragging him into the kitchen, refocusing them both to the very important bread making at hand. 

\- 

“Where do you keep your flour?” Br’aad looked over his shoulder to ask, rifling through a cabinet of spices. 

“Oh sorry it's over there.” Taxi used his head to gesture toward a closet. “It should be near the front.” 

Br’aad abandoned the spice cabinet to walk to the closet. Taxi turned off the sink tap and poured the water he had been measuring into a bowl. He turned to check the recipe for the next step but was interrupted by a yelp from the closet. 

“Are you alright?” Taxi craned his neck to attempt to peer in but the door was closed. Had he accidentally shut the door and startled himself? A stream of curses leaked from inside. 

“ _What the fuck, what the fuck, holy shit, no rat needs to be that big. Holy fuck_ ” 

He abandoned his theory and ran to the door. The size of the apartment made it so it really didn’t take too many steps. 

The door swung out narrowly missing Taxi’s nose. Unfortunately he was not lucky enough to miss the next obstacle. Br’aad, with a container of flour cradled in his arms, barreled out of the aforementioned closet door, causing the two of them to collide. 

Br’aads momentum had carried the two of them slightly forward. Taxi attempted to sit up but slipped in a powdery white substance, flour. He tried again and looked around. The entire kitchen was covered in flour, including both boys. The container which had at one point contained it sat dejected on its side uncovered. Their collision had caused Br’aad to drop it, letting it leak flour everywhere. 

“Oops.” Br’aad had sat up as well. He glanced around wide eyed as if not exactly sure how to act. 

“I can see you found the flour.” Taxi smiled. 

“There's a rat in your closet by the way.” Br’aad blurted out. 

Taxi couldn’t care less about the rat; he just looked at the man before him. Br’aad was covered head to toe in flour, much like himself. He met Taxi’s eyes with a disbelieving smile. One that often appeared before devolving into a fit of laughter. breathing in the moment, Taxi decided what he wanted. 

He wanted to feel this for the rest of his life. To be able to do things just to be stupid and clumsy and make fun of it. He wanted to share this feeling with the man in front of him. He wanted to keep sharing the good, bad, and stupid. Most of all, he wanted Br’aad to laugh. He wanted to hear that sound forever. 

Taxi nearly lurched forward to kiss him, but he caught himself. 

_This isn’t what we decided, he made it clear that we won’t change anything._

The other half of him screamed fuck that, to take action for himself for fucking once. Yet he still stopped and the moment was lost. Br’aad stood up, trying to hold back his hysterics so they could laugh together. He held out a hand to Taxi, which was accepted. Butterflies danced in his stomach much like the excitement of possibility in his mind. Taxi decided for once, he was going to let himself feel something. Shaking the flour off of his pants he felt energy course through his veins. 

He was hopelessly in love with Br’aad Vengalor, and he felt alive.


	10. The idea man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was originally twice as long and still going but, I had to cut it in half so I could post it at a reasonable date. I love writing these goofs interactions, It's just fun to write something cute. Anytime I write one of these lighter chapters I listen to everybody is kung fu fighting for a hot second to get in the writing mood. I've definitely Pavloved myself to it.
> 
> Also, fuck writers block.

There is no way the Br’aad Vegalor was going to succumb to his urges and make out with Taxi. He repeated it to himself like a mantra but, every time they shared a smile and casually held hands, he kept having to remind himself to keep his feelings in check. 

He practically felt like a saint for the amount of self control he was exerting. It was definitely more than he’d ever displayed in his life before. 

It felt frustrating to say the least. He wanted nothing more to express his love, to stop pining and get over it, to feel, to not feel. He wanted none of it and yet still so much. It didn’t help that he just couldn’t seem to escape even momentarily from thinking of Taxi. It clogged and dragged across his every thought. 

But, that didn’t matter. He could ignore it all, or he could at least pretend to. Pretending was the first step to tricking your emotions anyway. And pretend he did. 

They sat shoulder to shoulder on the couch, staring down at Taxi’s phone. They had finally caved and decided to do a classic quarantine activity: learning tik tok dances. They had already attempted baking their own bread but that had ended up as a fun game of chasing a rat out of Taxi’s apartment with whatever they could find. The mishap had also left them without flour. While they likely could have used the flour covering the floor- any bacteria and germs would be killed in the oven- they decided to draw the line somewhere and retain at least a fraction of their humanity during quarantine. 

And so they idley scrolled through tik tok looking for something that was interesting enough to make them get up from their admittingly comfortable positions on the couch. Br’aads arm had hooked behind his neck to lay lazily on his shoulders. He contentedly leaned on the other. 

“Renegade’s a classic.” Taxi looked up to talk, 

“Yeah but, it looks so complicated… What else can we do?” Taxi shrugged and continued scrolling. 

“Oo wait hold on.” Br’aad pointed at the screen . “Maybe we could do ‘Say So’. It looks relatively easy.” 

“I don’t really like Doja Cat.” 

“Excuse me?” 

“I mean her music is fine.” Taxi continued “It's just not as good as everyone pretends it is.” 

“Taxi I need you to look me in the eyes and say that again.” Br’aads arm fell from Taxi’s shoulder to move his head into facing him. 

“I don’t really-” Taxi started, his eyes pointed away. Br’aad grabbed the other side of Taxi’s face, shocking him into looking at him. 

“It doesn’t count if you don’t look me in the eyes.” 

“I don’t...” 

“Uh-huh” Br’aad stared him down. 

“...Care for...” 

“Say it.” Br’aad narrowed his eyes, Taxi cringed. 

“I’m so sorry” Br’aad released his hands, satisfied. 

“That's what I thought, you can lie about being a simp but I draw the line at bashing Doja Cat.” 

“I-I’m not a simp!” Taxi shouted defensively. 

“May 27th 2019.” The date had become a sort of meme among their friends. It was the day Taxi had slid into Velrisa’s DMs to ask if she was a virgin, leading into possibly the most awkward conversations the world has ever seen. Taxi sputtered incoherently. 

“Check fucking mate.” Taxi was frozen up and red as a cherry. Br’aad patted his shoulder taking the win. “But! We don’t have time for simping Taxi! We have to become eboys!” 

Taxi groaned, hands still covering his face. “I think that counts as an oxymoron.” 

“Well, you don’t have to call me a moron just because you’re embarrassed.” 

Taxi looked at Br’aad confused “What? No, the literary device.” 

“What device? Do you mean your phone?” Taxi looked astounded at him, Br’aad changed his stupid expression into his normal just dumb one. “Do you really think i’m that stupid?” 

“Yes.” Taxi replied without hesitation, Br’aad gasped in offence. 

“I can’t believe you think this low of me Taxi, I don’t think i’ll ever recover.” He flopped onto Taxi’s lap, hand on his forehead as if he were a Victorian woman who got the vapors. 

“You are so dramatic.” 

“As if you aren’t either Mr. Simp.” Br’aad booped Taxi on the nose with each word, Taxi rolled his eyes. 

“Your eboy comment gave me an idea.” 

“They call me the idea man.” 

“Sure, but maybe we could dress in classic e-boy clothes and makeup.” 

Br’aads eyes light up. “Hell yeah, let's do it.” 

Br’aad didn’t move from where he lay. Taxi waited a moment before talking again. 

“You know we actually have to get up to do that right?” 

“Yep” Br’aad continued to not move. 

“Alright here we go then.” Taxi wrapped his arms around Br’aad and stood, carrying him on his shoulder. 

“What? Oh wait, Taxi put me down.” Br’aad laughed. “Are you even strong enough to carry me?” 

Taxi groaned and spoke with very strained words. “This was a mistake.” 

“Put me down before you hurt yourself.” 

“Nope, we're going.” He took very shaky steps to the bedroom where Taxis closet was located. With only minorly banged heads they made it inside. “Okay Br’aad I can't carry you anymore.” 

“Aww... just as I was starting to enjoy it- OOF” Br’aad yelped as he was unceremoniously thrown from Taxis shoulder onto the bed. Taxi fell next to him exhausted. Br’aad could have had a joke about his crush carrying him into the bedroom and throwing him into bed but, he was too busy laughing at the sweaty red faced man next to him. He propped himself up onto his arm 

“You doing okay?” 

Taxi rolled over onto his back groaning “How are you that heavy?”. 

Br’aad chuckled “Lets just find some clothes and then you can get some rest.” He reached to pat Taxi’s hair but was intercepted by his hand. Taxi interlaced their fingers together. It wasn’t an uncommon gesture between the two. Randomly throughout the day, they would find their hands together. It still didn’t stop Br’aads heart from catching for a moment every time. 

He stared at Taxi, halfway through uncomfortable and craving more. The world felt smaller here at this moment. 

_We agreed nothing would change between us, I can’t._

Br’aad untangled his hand reluctantly and sat up. 

_He said what he wanted, I can’t give in to my own emotions._

He plastered on a fake smile toward Taxi “c’mon we’re not going to become e-boys without any work.”


	11. Don't put Sharpie on your eyelids

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please listen to the chapter title... So this is definitely the gayest chapter i've written yet. Maybe the physically gayest chapter, those angstier chapters walk pretty fucking fast. The next chapter is also definitely going to be late, i've got several things scheduled from a D&D game to a virtual college tour, so uhh yeah.  
> 

Between Taxi being a grade-A hippie and not having very many clothes matching the e-boy aesthetic and Br’aad shooting down most of the outfit ideas, It took a long time for them to pick out outfits. Eventually they settled on black sweats & a long sleeve striped shirt underneath a t-shirt for Taxi, and ripped jeans with a half buttoned and tucked in button up on top of a t-shirt for Br'aad. 

“Alright then let's get changed.” Br’aad grabbed the clothes and started taking off his pants. He looked up briefly to see Taxi staring, face flushed 

“What the fuc- put your pants back on!” He spluttered. 

Br’aad flashed him a confused look “I’m just changing into the outfit?” 

“I’m still in the room!” 

“We literally fucked like a day ago, I think we’re way past that Taxi.” Oh wow mentioning that was definitely a mistake, too soon. Br’aad cringed, embarrassment burned onto his cheeks. 

“I’m just going to go change in the bathroom.” Taxi squeaked out. 

Br’aad finished up changing in quiet. The flood of memories brought a wave of emotion. It left him feeling strangely hopeful, in a situation where there was no hope for a better outcome. He repressed them to the tune of his " _just friends_ " mantra. Taxi exited the bathroom. 

“I don’t actually have an eyeliner, we may just have to stick with e-boy outfits.” He said slightly disappointed. 

“Ah no, where's the fun in that? Do you have anything else like, maybe a sharpie?” Br’aad allowed himself to put his confident mask back on. 

“A sharpie?” he asked 

“Well yeah, I mean that's close enough, right?” 

“I’m not sure if that's safe to be putting on your eyes Br’aad.” He cringed at the thought, looking at Br’aad warily. Br’aad refused to consider the dangers of putting chemicals near and in his eyes. A textbook himbo mistake. 

“Well…” He let his head fall. “I guess If that's all we can do, I guess we’ll just have to settle.” He looked back up to Taxi. 

“Are you trying to guilt trip me?” 

“Is it working?” He abandoned the disappointed look to smirk instead. 

“Somehow, yes.” 

“So you have a sharpie then?” Taxi rolled his eyes. 

“This is going to end badly, but I’ll get it. You’re lucky I love you enough to deal with you.” He flashed a laughing smile and headed into the other room. 

Br’aad froze up at the words. He nearly forgot about his feelings again, but then Taxi had to go and say _that_. Surely he meant it in a friendly way, Taxi said he didn’t want anything to change. Br’aad decided he was just overthinking and being too hopeful. Best friends can say they love each other all the time, and that's all it was, that's all it could be. He couldn’t ignore the butterflies dancing in his stomach, nor the smile that crept up his cheeks. 

“I found one!” Taxi called from the other room, prompting Br’aad to walk over. “Okay so i’m definitely not putting this stuff on my eye but, i’ll draw some for you, unless you want to do it yourself.” 

“I don’t really trust myself to not fuck it up.” 

“Alright come here then.” Taxi gestured for Br’aad to sit in a chair that he pulled out. Br’aad compiled. 

Taxi awkwardly crouched down to get to a proper drawing level. He squinted trying to figure out how to go about the procedure. Their faces were much closer than two people who had sworn to just be friends really had any business being. Taxi grabbed Br’aads face gently to tilt it upward, he shut his eyes instinctively. _just friends, just friend, just friends…_ the mantra repeated itself over and over in Br’aads mind. 

Just friends nothing more, nothing's changed. Br’aad attempted to stifle the disappointment he felt at the thought. He wanted more, he craved more. Did Taxi know what he was doing when he would gently touch him? It felt like the universe was taunting him. Surely he meant it as a friendly gesture right? They had agreed to not change anything between them. It didn’t matter what Br’aad wanted, he couldn’t get his hopes up speculating. It just felt so confusing. The mantra of “just friends” continued but his thoughts were interrupted by Taxi speaking. 

“My fucking knees hurt crouching like this.” Br’aad opened his mouth to poke fun but was silenced by Taxi taking a seat on his lap, he began drawing on Br’aads eye, disallowing any questions. 

He wasn’t sitting where it would have been inappropriate but, he was close enough to where he could feel Taxi’s breath on his face. One hand was still cupping the side of his face. Br’aad could feel his face turn hot. He gripped the seat of the chair, knuckles white. He felt like he was going crazy. There was literally no straight explanation for this. 

Taxi leaned forward slightly as if confirming Br’aads thought. Br’aad felt like he was shaking, confusion rippled through his mind. He heard what Taxi said in the stairwell, he had his chance for him if he had wanted. Why was he acting like this now? Was it confusion? It couldn't just be Br’aads own imagination, right? 

Whatever the whys and hows, it was unquestionable. Taxi clearly liked Br’aad in the same way he did. He felt like he was going to implode, maybe from excitement or maybe from nervousness, maybe even a combination of both. Taxi lightly pat Br’aads face. 

“You can open your eyes now.” Br’aad compiled. He looked at Taxi who was slightly above him and too close. His lungs forced out an anxious laugh that was just air. Smile pulled ever so subtly at the corners of his mouth. 

“Well” He inhaled, feigning confidence. “How do I look then?” 

Taxi gave a slight laugh, “Hot.” He smirked in a way where Br’aad couldn’t tell if it was sarcasm or a genuine thought. He sat saying nothing, trying to suppress a smile that refused to disappear. 

For better or worse, He could get his hopes up.


	12. Alleged Friendzones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story is finally winding down. Theres about 1 chapter left to go, plus maybe an epilogue with some nice fluff. I need to find a new fic idea to write, I quite like this hobby. I started a Vel/Taxi twitch streamer AU in my google docs, so I might start polishing that up to post pretty soon. ANyway, enjoy!

They sat just close enough to the other. A blanket was draped over the pair shoulders, allowing them to share their warmth. Taxi found his arm hanging loosely over Br’aads shoulders subconsciously pulling him closer. Br’aad didn't seem to mind and rested his head on Taxis chest. 

It was comfortable and everything felt right. His heart lulled to a silent beat and he couldn’t help but let out a contented sigh. It was that feeling where you’ve spent the whole day at the beach and you come home exhausted. Where you feel ‘sleepy’ for a lack of a better word, and you just feel a steady happiness in your chest. 

Knowing what he wanted and actually going for that goal felt strangely exciting, Albeit the intrusive thoughts didn’t stop discouraging him. Barrages of insults picked at everything they could. Taxi had spent the day combating them as best as he could, but here? With Br’aad in his arms; it felt a hundred times easier. It had also been hundred times harder to control his actions with Br’aad. Before his realization, everything was heavily repressed out of what he had called necessity. Now it felt too apparent, too obvious, not enough. He definitely had overstepped with the eyeliner incident. He acted without thinking and could have ruined everything, but Br’aad didn’t seem to assume anything of it; he was safe. 

The movie they had decided on was the second “Zombieland” movie, which kept them both fairly quiet. They both just enjoyed the movie and being around each other. Then the discourse started. 

“I’m just saying the conflicts and relationships between the characters feel a little forced. I’m not saying it's a terrible movie!”. Taxi held out his hand like a rantsona about to deliver a vital point. Br’aad huffed indignantly. 

“You better not be saying its a bad movie! I don’t share blankets with people who have bad opinions.” Br’aads voice trailed upward into a playful tone. He sat up from Taxi’s chest, which made Taxi feel faint disappointment. He had quite liked the warmth, and Br’aad being there. 

“You can’t take this blanket from me, it's mine, I bought it with my own money Br’aad.” 

“Good thing I have no problem with stealing then.” He quickly wrapped himself up, allowing no area of purchase for him to grab and retaliate. Br’aad shot over a smug look. 

Taxi rolled his eyes and let out a sigh “If I take it back will you give me my side of the blanket?” 

“I may consider your offer…” 

“Fine, the conflicts and dynamics between the characters in Zombieland-”. Just as Br’aad was properly distracted with the redaction, he snatched the blanket back. 

“Hey! That’s cheating!” Br’aad moved to try and take it back but, Taxi held on tight. 

“How is stealing it back cheating?” 

“Because I said so.” 

“Well, good luck enforcing that.” Taxi held the balled up blanket above his head where Br’aad would not be able to reach it. 

Br’aad glared as if considering his next move. He abruptly lunged forward. Surprised, Taxi scrambled backwards. Unfortunately there wasn’t any more couch behind him. He hit the ground with a ugly thud, only narrowly missing the corner of the coffee table. 

Br’aad quickly followed, attempting to wrestle the blanket away. He straddled him attempting to pin him. He managed to shake Taxi’s grip and grabbed the blanket. He took a moment to shoot Taxi a triumphant look. Taxi used his pause to roll abruptly, throwing Br’aad off of his balance. The situation reversed, 

Taxi pinned Br’aad down, holding his arms back above his head. Br’aad gave him an offended look and tried to struggle against the hold. Taxi held the pin firm and it became increasingly clear that the other could not escape. 

“If you tell me I won, i’ll let you go.” Taxi stared down with a smirk. 

“Fuck you, you will be defeated.” He continued trying to wiggle away, to no avail. 

“Alright good luck with that then.” Taxi just watched Br’aad seemingly tirelessly try to escape. After a minute or so Br’aad calmed down and shot him a glare. 

“Fine, you win.” he groaned. Taxi, satisfied, rolled off to lay one the floor next to Br’aad. He tossed over the blanket. It landed on Br’aads stomach with a muffled thud. 

“Why are you giving me the blanket? You just won, you just made me admit it.” Br’aad picked it up gingerly, propping himself up onto his elbow to stare. 

“We’re just messing around, what kind of host would I be if I didn’t let you have it? Also you deserve nice things.” Br’aad looked at him confused as if trying to calculate the reason he said what he said. 

“...Thanks”. He wrapped the blanket around himself slowly, as if he were savoring it. Taxi stood up. 

“Do you want any tea? I think i’m in the mood to make some-” 

“You know I love you right?” Taxi froze up, time stopped. He felt as if an ice stake had shot through his spine causing him to short circuit. He opened up his mouth to speak but no words came out. 

“You’re my best friend Taxi...” Taxi zoned out at the first part of the sentence. He regained his composure and gently knelt back down to Br’aads height. Of course Br’aad had only meant it friendwise. The sentiment was just too nice to be real, and yet he still hoped for a sweet second. He bit back the disappointment and tried his best to not let it show. 

“Well… time doesn’t sound right, it sort of sounds like I know i’m about to die, and time’s a funny thing y’know? I can’t really say life either because that's a big ‘ol commitment…” Br’aad continued rambling. Taxi only barely listened; the rest of his mind scolded himself at opening up his emotions. 

_You knew you were just going to get hurt, you were just being selfish in the first place._

“Yeah, I love you too.” He grimaced, a gesture not caught by the other who was somehow still spewing bullshit. 

The words were sincere but they weren’t honest, not in the way it mattered. Of course he loved Br’aad as a friend but, he wanted more than that. Friendship wasn’t enough for his newly discovered wants. Br’aad let out a relieved smile, as if he had been aching for the chance to say those words. Taxi was too caught up in being miserable to notice basic subtext. 

“You do?” His tone was one of disbelief and excitement, it confused Taxi. 

“Why wouldn’t I?” All the reasons why he loved Br’aad kept flashing in his mind. The stupid smiles, the way he talked, even the way he could drone on about nothing for seemingly endless amounts of time. Another pang of sadness punched him in the gut as he remembered he was essentially being friendzoned. 

“There's a very long list.” 

“I can’t think of any reasons.” 

It was true again, even the most annoying habits had stockholmed themselves into subjects of adoration. Br’aad let out a breathy laugh that was halfway to joy. He leaned forward and pressed his lips onto Taxis. 

The sensation in one complete word was: confusing. Taxi was not at odds with the situation, it was one that he’d been fantasizing about for months. He just didn’t quite understand the chain of events that lead him here. Had Br’aad not just given him a friend zone speech? Was this his interpretation of what friends did? Br’aad pulled away as it became increasingly obvious Taxi was not reciprocating. 

“Oh sorry, is this okay?” Taxi just stared at him in disbelief 

“Ye- I mean- What was that for?” His tone was characteristically nervous. 

“I thought- oh my god i’m sorry.” Br’aad scrambled backwards, and Taxi grabbed his arm before he could. 

“Didn’t you just best friend zone me a second ago?” Br’aad cocked his head to the side. 

“Best friend zone?” He repeated each word in a drawn out way, attempting to reverse engineer the statement and find the conclusions Taxi had made. 

“Yes, the thing you were just saying.” 

“You mean the ‘speech’ I just gave? Where I literally confessed my love to you? You interpreted that as a friend thing?” He spoke slowly, processing the latter half of the statement. He drew back slowly. 

“I just thought-” 

“What the fuck” Br’aad yanked his hand away from Taxi and shot up. He began retreating backwards into the other room. 

“Okay so you clearly don’t feel the way I thought you did. I thought you were giving off some big hints but, I guess that was just me being stupid.” 

“Br’aad, wait” Taxi stood as well, trying to follow his escape route. Br’aad’s expression became somewhat panicked but continued speaking uninterrupted. 

“It's okay, you don’t have to say anything; i’m just going to go into the other room and take a second. I’m really sorry this is very embarrassing. I'm just sorta going to go.” He bumped into the bathroom door and fumbled for the knob. He awkwardly stepped inside. 

The blanket draped on his shoulders got caught on the door as it quickly shut. A curse rang from the other side. The door reopened to let the blanket fall through. The apartment turned uncharacteristically quiet. Taxi was reduced to staring at the recently closed door. 

_What the fuck just happened?_


	13. Bathroom breakdowns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've noticed I really like writing the angst more, i just think it's neat. Anyway, this is the last chapter. I'll be writing a little epilogue sometime next week so stay tuned for a little longer! This one's for the gays.

Br’aad fell to the floor like a sack of flour. His arms and legs squeezed inwards as if to try and shield him from the rest of the world. A sob choked out and echoed across the bathroom walls; Half anger and half pitiful sadness. It was anger at himself, anger that he just couldn’t ever get it right. Every time he thought he finally cracked it, finally understood what to do, finally got a break, it was just too good to be true; and of course it was, who was he to demand better treatment from a universe that had already hurt and denied him so much? 

Another sob stuck in his throat trying to escape. Couldn’t just _something_ go the way he wanted it to? He’d struggled, he's surpassed and worked past things that had been cliffs. Was it too greedy to ask for a _chance_ of a happy ending? Even if it wasn’t an ending; and with his luck it likely wouldn’t be. 

Of course he’d been wrong, he should have known better than to let hope cloud his sense. He shouldn’t even be crying, he shouldn’t even have these feelings to begin with; A unwarranted beginning to a just and brutal end. Trying in vain to muffle the sound of his anguish was a just punishment for indulging. If Hopelessness was the new emo he was but a angsty teen from the early 2000’s 

He became uncomfortably aware of the warmth across his shoulders. The blanket from earlier was still draped across his shoulders, like a whimsical cape. Br’aad grabbed the corners of it, pulling it around him. It was much too hot for it but, focusing on that feeling allowed him to start regrounding himself into reality. 

Tears dried as quickly as the whirlwind of a situation had made them appear. Eventually his breathing resteadied itself. He opened his tightly drawn eyes, they felt swollen and red. Br’aad took a shaky and uncertain breath, had his grieving period passed? Br’aad’s jaw tensed holding back another wave indicating that: No, it hadn’t; it likely wouldn’t for a while, but he didn’t have a while; he’d have to leave the room eventually. He pulled the blanket tighter around as if it could keep him chained to this plane. It still smelled of Taxi. 

" _...plus, you deserve nice things_ " the memory of Taxi’s words reverberated around his mind. That had been the catalyst, a cumulation of actions behind it. He’d been so certain; and yet he _still_ got it wrong. He’d faced rejection before, he could handle it - even if this one stung particularly badly- It was the fact that he couldn’t trust himself to find the correct answers that really acted as a despair hammer for his nail of pain. 

Damn, even in his sadness he was getting nailed. He let out a joyless laugh at his joke, his mind slowly clearing. 

He took off the blanket and crumpled it into a ball. Knuckles white he stared at the mass. It was a reminder; one that served to rub salt in the fresh wound but, a reminder nonetheless. Resolve hardening he tossed the niceties aside. It hit the wall as soundlessly as one would expect a blanket to hit a wall. With a look cast downward upon it Br’aad began to feel tired. The emotional exhaustion slowly took hold, with a sigh that resonated throughout him, Br’aad stood and leaned against the wall. 

What was he going to do now? He couldn’t just say ‘sorry for kissing you! I just though the eyeliner thing was a little too homoerotic to be platonic!’ How the hell did Taxi jump to ‘friendzone’ anyway? 

It didn’t matter now, the past happened. The muscles in Br’aads jaw tightened, He needed to move on. As if the advice had ever once led to positive or swayed results, he bullied himself into following it. Each step toward the bathroom door dug another foot deeper into the grave of which he decided to store his feelings. Hand grasped around the doorknob he let out one last breath, then pushed it open. 

\----- 

He should be waiting right? Taxi fidgeted anxiously in his chair, frustratingly unsure of how to proceed. Somehow Br’aad had confessed a love declaration, and Taxi had just not noticed? He practically had to restrain himself from giving himself a deserved punch in the face. Looking back on the subtext and the actual words Br’aad had been saying, there really was no other way to interpret it. 

But then Br’aad had kissed him. Taxi felt blush and a smile creep up the sides of his face as he remembered, he cupped a hand over his mouth to hide it. Br’aad actually _liked_ him. It was impossible to not feel a little giddy at the thought. 

Looking back up upon the bathroom door the smile faded away. Br’aad had been inside for at least 10 minutes now. Taxi’s stomach felt like it was full of moths, with only the occasional optimist’s butterfly of ‘I really hope this is salvageable’. 

Br’aad had just freaked out when Taxi misunderstood, and he wasn’t able to get a word in. Taxi cursed his chronic inaction, maybe if he just tried a little harder to talk, or wasn’t so stupid to misunderstand in the first place, they could both be in a significantly happier situation. 

The door opened and Br’aad appeared behind it. He looked away, refusing to make eye contact -A gesture all too familiar unfortunately to Taxi-, somewhat dejectedly, Taxi shot out of his seat. 

“Br-” He started and was immediately cut off. 

“Taxi I- Please, just listen to me.” Br’aads eyes were swollen, a fact that did not escape Taxis perception and left a pang of guilt through his chest. 

“I’m sorry-” 

“No, Br’aad I-” Taxi closed the distance between the two. Br’aad didn’t seem to notice, he continued staring at the floor. 

“I’m sorry that I kissed you-” 

“Stop, Br’aad I-” 

“I was just confused, you can just forget-” Taxi tilted Br’aads head to face him, interrupting his speech yet again. Br’aad grabbed his hand and lightly pushed it away from his face. 

“Please… just let me apologize” 

“I don’t want you to apologize.” Taxi felt his voice beginning to strain, as the other drifted away like a handful of sand. Br’aad lightly shook his head 

“You don’t need to be gentle, I can handle rejection.” 

“This isn’t rejection Br’aad.” 

“What?” His face contorted into confusion. 

“Br’aad, can I kiss you?” It was the most direct statement that he could think to say, one that laid his emotions out onto the proverbial table. Short but, sweet it was a confession within itself. Br’aads face went cherry red, eyes open with bewilderment. He didn’t say anything. 

“I mean only if you're okay with it. If that's too much that's fine.” Taxi stepped back slightly, his own already dim confidence wavering. Br’aad continued short-circuiting, enabling Taxi to nervously ramble. 

“I mean all the things you were talking about earlier, I feel the same way -and not in a ‘friendzone’ way, because that was a stupid thing for me to think and you obviously didn't mean it like that-“ Taxi held his hands out in front of him in defense. 

“...but I have felt that way for a long time. I adore everything you do and-” Taxi was unceremoniously cut off by Br’aads lips crashing into his. 

Taxi at first had a moment of surprise, much like the last, he hadn’t been expecting it. This time though he was significantly more prepared, and quickly closed his eyes to melt into the other. They stayed together for a moment, a minute of triumph, but soon after the pair felt their connected smiles divulge into slight laughter. 

Br’aads arms had wrapped around his neck, Taxis arms reached loosely around Br’aads waist. The world felt like it was smaller than it was, their faces as close as they ought to be, they only focused on each other and the laughter they shared. They laughed together at the misunderstandings and the world for allowing it to happen. 

“I can’t believe you thought I friendzoned you.” 

“In my defense I-...” Taxi searched for the words to defend himself and came back empty handed. 

“Taxi we can’t both be himbos, it's my job to be stupid.” Taxi opened his mouth to try and tell Br’aad he wasn’t stupid but, was quieted by Br’aad pulling his face down to kiss him again. 

It was softer than the previous, allowing the pair to both stop repressing their emotions and just feel happy. There were no more misunderstandings nor too sweet cups of coffee. They felt hope; a feeling that had flitted in and out of their lives across the hours. Br’aad pulled away slightly. 

“You know the only thing about this that sucks?” Taxi raised an eyebrow slightly confused. 

“We’re going to get destroyed mercilessly by the rest of the group.” 

“Oh fuck I forgot.” They spent a moment staring at each other with nervous looks. 

“You know what?” Taxi started. “I think that's tomorrow 's problem.” He leaned down to kiss Br’aad again. 

“Mm good point.” Br’aad quickly tangled his arms around Taxi to reciprocate. 

The two continued the rest of the night returning to their discourse over Zombieland. It never lasted too long as Taxi continually let Br’aad win to continue making out with him. They fell asleep entangled together on the couch where the movie played. Both finally reaping the rewards of their struggle. The world may have been panicking in a state of pandemic but inside of Taxi’s apartment it was warm and, for once, happy.


	14. The epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you read this chapter, be sure to re-read the tags! I had to change them so please check them to be sure that you're fine to read the chapter.  
> While writing this chapter I was forced into a moment of contemplation. Sipping water from a sksksk straw, I sat up from my favorite chair. I made my way to the nearest mirror and looked myself in the eyes.  
> Would I be the first one (As far as I can tell) to bring smut to such a pure and protected fandom? Would I open up A03 and feed the people porn? Could I ever look myself in the eyes again if I did so?  
> Letting out a definitive sigh I made up my mind. No, that will not be what I leave behind. Yet, here I am with changed tags ever so slightly. Have I bowed to the horny, I must ask? Nay, I control it.  
> Y'all can have a little a horny, as a treat.

Daybreak shone through the gaps in the curtains. Gentle golden rays danced across Br’aads face causing him to rise into awakeness. With eyes slowly opening he looked around at his situation. Taxi’s arm was wrapped around him where they lay half entangled on the couch. Taxi was still asleep in a half sitting up, half laying down position. His other hand angled to support his head up. 

Br’aad smiled and lay back down. The prior day still felt like a dream and yet they were here together. He wrapped his arms around Taxi a little tighter, if yesterday really was a dream, he didn’t want to let it fade away just yet. 

Br’aad leaned into the other's warmth. His head against Taxi’s chest letting their breathing sync into an eased rhythm. The yellow light of sunrise stayed ignored in a brief moment of bliss. The drudgery and expectations that came with awakeness -though certainly bound to be more enjoyable due to recent events- could be delayed and tossed for a simple rest of the eyes. 

It was quickly interrupted by a groan from Taxi as he rubbed the sleep away from his eyes, the same sunlight had betrayed the moment and had drifted toward the other. Rather reluctantly Br’aad pulled away and drew his legs into a crossed position. 

“I don’t think sleeping sitting up did wonders to my neck” Taxi lamented, he attempted to crack it little avail. 

“Why’d you sleep like that then silly?” Br’aad spent a moment admiring the others' face. The way that his eyes wrinkled with tiredness and a light grin, were really making him feel some type of way. 

“When you fell asleep I didn’t want to move and disrupt you,” he murmured. Br’aad let out a snort and twisted to that his knees straddled over Taxi. 

"And what a _gentleman_ you are for it,” His voice twisted upward into a mocking pompous tune on the word. 

“Maybe next time i’ll just toss you off my couch then.” his eyes narrowed but his smirk was unmistakable. Br’aad let out a noise of offence 

“You wouldn’t, you like me too much.” He cupped Taxi’s face with his hands. 

“You always make such compelling arguments” 

“It's true, it's a miracle people don’t listen to me more often.” He tilted Taxi’s face upward to bring it closer to his. Taxi fidgeted anxiously at the eye contact. 

“So come here often?” He blurted out, the redness in his cheeks wasn’t hidden by the beaming smile on his face. Br’aad let out a chortle but decided to play along. 

“Hmm, well I'm usually here with my boyfriend” he drawled away in half of a Texan accent. Taxi made no effort to hide his spew of laughter at the attempt. 

“Why are you trying to be Texan?” Taxi shook with every laugh making it difficult to not join in but he managed to keep up his character.” 

“I’ll have you know I am a proud Texan, stranger. I was born and raised country.” He huffed indignantly. 

“Oh! I’m sorry, let's start over,” Taxi’s voice fell into an attempt at charm. “So a boyfriend huh? How could he leave such a pretty feller like you alone in a place like this -shit i’m falling into your Texas accent-” Br’aad lightly swatted at his arm. 

“Taxi, You have to stay in character!,” He rolled his eyes before getting back into it. “Well I guess i’d have to ask him then, why am I alone in a place like this?” the accent stretched the syllables into a playful tune as he inched his face even closer. 

“Wait, I don’t get it, am I the boyfriend now?” He tilted his head to ask. 

“Taxi…” Br’aad groaned. “Well, you definitely can’t be in this story we’ve created, but you can be in real life.” 

“Wait really?” Taxi’s face perked up. 

“You know what? Actually, maybe we should just be friends instead.” He moved his face even closer to where their noses were practically touching, shit-eating grin closing in. Taxi’s face contorted downward into brief confusion before returning to joy. 

“Oh! Okay you're joking, yes I would love that.” 

“Taxi! Really? Again?” Br’aad regarded him with a moment of astonishment, the other only shrugged sheepishly. 

“Anyway then,” Br’aad smiled mischievously “Would my new boyfriend mind making out with me for the next hour?” 

“Oh,” Taxi’s face immediately lit up pink. Br’aad raised his eyebrow, looking for consent. 

“I don’t think he’d mind” Taxi confirmed. 

Br’aad responded by leaning forward just slightly, there wasn’t much space between them in the first place. The kiss started off lightly, the sleepy attitude of the morning seeping into their actions but, quickly became more. Br’aad readjusted his legs to get closer, his hands reaching around Taxi to tangle into his hair. The action is quickly reciprocated by Taxi wrapping his arms around the others waist, pulling him onto his lap. 

Taxi’s tongue tests the edge of Br’aads lips and is accepted with a smile into the kiss. The quiet grey apartment and shining sun coming in through the windows melting away behind them. Tongues pressed together the space became unbearably warm. Taxi’s hands drift underneath Br’aads shirt. He sat up to pull it off, flashing a smirk at the cherry red and flustered man underneath him before diving back down. 

Taxis mouth drifts away from Br’aads and grazes its way down his face to his neck. Falling into the rhythm of Taxi sucking at his neck interspersed with kisses to the now sensitive area, Br’aad humms contentedly into the others ear; idly playing with his partners ginger hair. 

Goofy clown honking rang out from the table in front of the couch interrupting them. It was a sound that was often accompanied with bad news. One that was surprising enough each time he heard it, to force Br’aad into pulling away again. 

“Fuck, its the horny police.” Taxi flashed him a confused look, left somewhat dazed from the sudden change in tone. 

“What? What's happening?” 

“My phones ringing” He groaned 

“Can you not just call back?” 

“No, it's Velrisa’s ringtone, she only calls during emergencies.” 

“Why is that your ringtone for Vel?” Br’aad shrugged non committedly and leaned over to grab his phone. Checking the screen before answering, his phone was only left with twenty percent and that the call was actually a facetime video chat, rather than that of a normal call. 

“Fuck, she’s facetiming me do I look,”- Br’aad looked down at his partner who in one simple word was: disheveled. His ginger hair stuck up in strange angles were Br’aad had been grabbing at it with the flush across his cheeks combined into a general state of mess. -”um, not like you?” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Taxi said indignantly. Br’aad snorted and leaned close. 

“You know what I mean. I could take you to horny jail right now, The evidence is literally underneath me Taxi.” He moved his hips over whatever was poking him in the leg to prove his point. 

“It's not a one man crime Br’aad!” a mix of embarrassment and being flustered appeared through his accusation. 

“Save it for horny court, jailbird.” Purring into the words, he pressed a new kiss onto Taxi’s lips. With a roll of his eyes Taxi reciprocated it. They briefly returned to the rhythm, before Br’aad pulled away yet again. 

“I forgot about the phone.” He gave a small laugh. Taxi groaned and pressed his hands onto his face in annoyance. 

He readjusted the phone in one hand and smoothed down his hair in the other. Being careful to keep the camera above his neckline he looked to accept the call, only to see the face of Velrisa already there. Her hair was blond, which didn’t bode well for the rest of the crew's sanity. If Velrisa had caved and bleached her hair in a matter of a day, Sylnan might literally just be dead from cabin fever. 

He met her gaze of wide eyes and embarrassed expression and let his own face fall to realize that she must have heard everything. He had accidentally clicked to accept the call when he got re-distracted with Taxi. 

"I really wish I hadn’t heard that.” She let out. They engaged in a silent awkward stare off, Br’aad becoming progressively more red. Off camera a voice rang out. 

“Did they answer yet Vel?” It was Sylnan. She continued the staring contest before talking again. 

“You owe Mountain twenty dollars.” She jerkily handed Sylnan the phone and left the room. 

“What?” He looked down at the screen.”Oh.” 

“I’ll call you back… um.. later?” Br’aad still flustered, choked on his words and hung up abruptly. Br’aad held his head in his hands trying to save face, Taxi just winced. 

“So they know?” He asked already knowing the answer. 

“Yeah, they know.” Br’aad groaned back, muffled from his hands still covering his face. They sat in a brief moment of silence contemplating what to do next. 

“Well, as embarrassing as that is”- He pulled Br’aads hands away, interlocking them with his own.-”I’ve spent too long pining to let a little embarrassment stop us, and I'd tell a whole stadium about us to stay by your side.” Br’aad contemplated the sentiment for a moment before letting a goofy grin return to his face. 

“In that case I believe we were in the middle of something..." Taxi smiled and the pair fell back together.


End file.
